Team USATF ready for repeat success in return to London

7/24/2017

INDIANAPOLIS -- Four reigning World champions and eight 2016 Olympic individual gold medalists will lead 132 athletes on the Team USATF roster for the 2017 IAAF World Championships, held August 4-13 in London, England. Representing the U.S. in the delegation announced Monday by USA Track & Field are 77 Olympians, including 13 Olympic medalists from 2012 who will return to London Stadium for another chance at the podium.Overall, 39 World Championships and/or Olympic medalists are part of the Team USATF roster.

Returning to defend their 2015 individual World titles are Tianna Bartoletta (Elyria, Ohio) in the women’s long jump, Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, California) in the women’s 400m, Joe Kovacs (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) in the men’s shot put and Christian Taylor (Fayetteville, Georgia) in the men’s triple jump. Bartoletta, Felix and Taylor all lead the world in their respective events in 2017, while Kovacs is second in the world in the men’s shot put behind 2016 Olympic champion Ryan Crouser (Boring, Oregon).

In addition to the four defending World champions, five additional USATF athletes received byes into the IAAF World Championships by virtue of entering the meet as the reigning Diamond League champions in their event. Those athletes include Kerron Clement (La Porte, Texas) in the men’s 400m hurdles, Keni Harrison (Clayton, North Carolina) in the women’s 100m hurdles, Erik Kynard (Toledo, Ohio) in the men’s high jump, LaShawn Merritt (Portsmouth, Virginia) in the men’s 400m and Cassandra Tate (Hammond, Louisiana) in the women’s 400m hurdles.

Eight individual Olympic gold medalists from the 2016 Rio Games who will compete in London for Team USATF: Crouser in the men’s shot put; Taylor in the men’s triple jump; Bartoletta in the long jump; Clement in the men’s 400m hurdles; Matthew Centrowitz (Arnold, Maryland) in the men’s 1,500m; Michelle Carter (Red Oak, Texas) in the women’s shot put; Jeff Henderson (North Little Rock, Arkansas) in the men’s long jump; and Dalilah Muhammad (Bayside, NY) in the women’s 400m hurdles. 2012 Olympic women’s pole vault gold medalist Jenn Suhr (Fredonia, NY) will return to the stadium where she won her first Olympic medal, while Taylor revisits the site of the first of his two Olympic golds.

In addition, Team USATF could receive invitations for athletes who did not meet the IAAF qualifying standards for their respective events. Those invitations will be announced at a later date.

NBC will broadcast 50 hours of live television coverage from London, in addition to over 100 hours streaming live online on NBC Sports Gold and highlights broadcast each day on the newly-launched Olympic Channel.

HELP TEAM USATF GIVE BACK: After a 32-medal winning performance at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Team USATF has joined forces with the American Cancer Society to raise money for the fight against cancer. Celebrate the success of Team USATF at the 2017 IAAF World Championships by making a pledge for every medal Team USATF wins in London! To make a pledge and to watch a PSA featuring Christian Taylor and cancer survivor Gabe Grunewald, visit www.nothingisimpossible.com